Quick guide for selecting the best accounts payable tool for your business

3. Define your AP needs

In addition to setting goals, define the requirements your AP solution must fulfill. List out all the functionalities that the ideal AP automation solution must offer. Important requirements to consider include: 

• Ease of use/fast onboarding 
• Compatibility with your existing technology (seamless integration into your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, for example) 
• Automation of error-prone manual processes (like data entry and paper hand-offs) 
• Optical character recognition (OCR) 
• Validation of invoice data to catch any inconsistencies 
• Flagging duplicate invoices 
• Enabling suppliers and internal stakeholders to easily collaborate 
• Support for your approval processes, regardless of how complex invoices are 
• Streamlined business processing workflows 
• Enabling approvers to sign off on invoices remotely with a single click online 
• Collecting invoice processing data to continually improve your processes 

4. Research vendors and narrow your search

Next, thoroughly research available solutions and create a shortlist of potential vendors that can help you meet your requirements and goals.  

In addition to costs, consider factors like: 

• Integration capabilities 
• Sales and aftersales support quality 
• Option for demos, and/or proof of concept 
• References 
• Industry reports 

Once you have identified your favorite potential vendors, you can contact them, or send them a request for information (RFI) to collect more details or a request for proposal (RFP) to learn more about exact costs and how they operate. RFIs help further narrow down potential vendors, while RFPs will give you all the specifics for well-defined projects. 

Once you have all the information you need, compare their responses to your questions and requests. The next steps will help you filter your search even further. 

5. Compare functionalities and features

Evaluate each vendor’s core AP automation capabilities to ensure they align with the goals and needs you defined in steps 2 and 3 above. Further options to consider include:  

• Can the solution import invoices from all different channels you and your vendors use? 
• Can it process scanned, PDF and e-invoices? 
• Can it split batches into separate invoices? 
• Can it identify PO-based invoices? 
• Can it perform compliance checks? 
• Does it align with your business process workflows? 
• Can it automate your invoice approval process? 
• Can it automatically process PO and non-PO invoices? 
• Does it offer a user-friendly portal for your suppliers to upload their invoices? 

At Cevinio, we understand how important and beneficial these features are to our customers. That’s why our AP solution offers all the functionalities listed above, and more. 

6. Check integration options

It is also crucial to ensure that the solution you choose can be integrated into your current ERP, accounting software and other business systems. This ensures seamless connectivity and uninterrupted data exchange. 

Cevinio, for example, offers a fully integrated solution, which means smooth communication and data synchronization across many different ERP systems. 

7. Consider scalability and flexibility

Does the vendor’s solution fit your company’s future goals? Will it allow you to smoothly scale up when you need to process more invoices? 

Ask about each vendor’s track record in implementing solutions at your desired scale. Seamless scalability for global operations enables multi-country and multi-language transactions, for example.

8. Review pricing and licensing

Carefully review each vendor's pricing model, including your upfront investment costs, subscription fees, transaction fees and other costs. Short-term costs are always a major factor when making any business decision, but it is also important to consider the long-term return on investment and value added.

9. Assess support and training

Evaluate each vendor’s customer support offering. Ask them about their average response times, knowledge base and available training resources to help ensure you and your company’s employees get the most out of using their software.  

Cevinio, for example, offers comprehensive training to ensure our customers quickly adjust to using our software and integrate it into their everyday workflows. This approach helps you start benefiting from our software as fast as possible.

10.  Ask for references

Be sure to ask potential vendors to provide references from other companies in your industry. Hearing about other companies’ experiences will give you a clearer view of what it is like to work with the vendor and whether they offer the customer experience you expect. 

11. Run a proof of concept

After narrowing your search to the right vendor, the final step is to perform a proof of concept. This is like a pilot project or a test run to see how well the vendor’s software works in real life at your company. Only if the vendor passes this crucial test can you be sure you have made the right choice.

Ready to start your automated AP journey?

The steps above help you identify the best AP automation solution for your business. The key is to work closely with your project team, and to ensure that your buying committee and other stakeholders are engaged throughout the process. Remember that different stakeholders have different priorities. To learn more about how to effectively gain their support and address their needs and concerns, read our article How to choose AP automation software based on your role. 

Cevinio offers a comprehensive and scalable AP solution that offers you all the features and benefits described above and more. Our software uses the latest technology in artificial intelligence and RPA technology to boost agent productivity, lower your costs and improve local and global compliance. If you’d like some guidance on discovering whether Cevinio is the best accounts payable automation tool for your business please contact us.